Sports Takes and Predictions

Colts: Perfection and Competition

I’m a little late on this one but still feel compelled to write as there was more talk today criticizing the Colts for resting their starters and not going for the perfect record last week. I think there are two issues worth discussing: 1 – going all-in for the perfect record; and 2 – competing at a high level to maintain the integrity of the game.

As far as the perfect record, I have no qualms at all with the Colts resting their starters. Like many of you I would love to see another quest for perfection just like we did a couple of years ago. While I was rooting against the Patriots then, I could certainly get behind the Colts in their pursuit. However, I believe the bottom line is winning the Super Bowl. Coach Caldwell and the rest of the Colts coaches and front office personnel should be focusing on putting their team in the best possible position to win the Super Bowl. If they believe that means resting their starters for parts, or all, of a game, or games, then that is their prerogative.

Another reason to rest the starters is to remove the burden of perfection off the backs of the players. You’d have to think that could weigh very heavily on their minds. Instead of focusing on one game at a time as the playoffs start they could easily begin to think of the totality of what they were trying to achieve and crumble under the pressure. So instead they took the loss – on their terms.

In regard to the “competition” angle, which Commissioner Goodell has been speaking to today, I have no sympathy at all for teams that may miss the playoffs as a result of other teams resting their starters. If they did not want their destiny to rest in the hands of others they should have won their games, it is as simple as that. He mentioned that to encourage a high level of competition the league is considering dangling draft picks for teams that otherwise may be motivated to rest their best players. It will be interesting to see what the competition committee comes up with as far as incentives. Thankfully he did say they will not be exploring punishments.

As a post script today is the injury that the Patriots’ Wes Welker suffered. While there has yet to be additional word from the Patriots (can we expect there ever will be) usually an injury that occurs without contact ends up being very serious. This injury makes an excellent case for resting the players.